Ten years ago, Nik was a VIP host at Las Vegas’ most luxurious casinos and nightclubs. But the endless nights spent entertaining clients with “alcohol and indulgent dinners” eventually took their toll on her body – and her psyche –, as she realised she didn’t want to be doing this for the rest of her life.

Looking back, she never imagined she would be where she is today: “If you looked at my diet back in Vegas, my fridge had chocolate and frozen readymade meals. And because we were classified as models, they actually weighed us in every month to make sure we didn’t gain weight and that we looked perfect. Imagine the body image issues that would create in a young 20-year-old girl’s head. That was definitely a challenge, but it made me who I am today.”

Eventually, her body began to deteriorate and she struggled to lose the extra kilos: “I’m Hungarian and growing up on a high sugar and high carbohydrate European diet, I experienced all these challenges with my body. In the US, it was much worse and my digestive system started to give up on me. I was bloated, I was craving sugar all the time, and I had bad energy levels. I was just really unhappy and felt depressed. It was becoming more and more obvious to me that something needed to change and I needed to get out of Vegas.”

It was only after falling in love with an Aussie from Sydney during her travels that she knew what she wanted to do. During this time, they both visited a naturopath for their ailments. Miraculously, Nik discovered her digestive issues could be cured with food alone: “I was amazed at what food can do for us and how it impacts our ability to concentrate, to feel good, to feel energised and look good as well.”

Months later, she moved countries for the third time so she could be with her partner (at that time), drifting further away from her native Hungary. This time, she found herself studying nutritional medicine in Australia, which “felt right”. She became committed to eating wholesome, natural foods rather than dieting as “nature gets it right and the human body was created to have balance and to have some of everything.” Later, she studied personal training, then wellness coaching, and competed as a fitness model. But her body image issues were always in the back of her mind.

It wasn’t until she started practising yoga that she reconciled her relationship with her body, which she had struggled with even after learning about the right way to eat and train: “I became a lot more mindful and I started to accept and love myself more. Yoga allows you to develop a deeper connection to your authentic self, which is why I went on to studying it, so I could share that with other women too.”

When she’s not helping women transform their bodies and helping them realise how effortless getting fit and staying fit actually is with the right mindset, Nik loves spending time in “health-conscious” Bondi, where she’s based. She travels, and her favourite parts are, “Discovering new places, embracing the local culture and getting to know people. It helps put things into perspective.”

If her experiences have taught her anything, it’s that yes, she can: “When I moved countries for the third time and went to the other side of the world and started everything all over again twice, I realised that if I have a goal that I set my mind to, I can achieve it and there’s no doubt in my mind that anything is possible.”

But the journey to wellness and mindfulness certainly wasn’t easy. Above all, Nik Toth dreams of “inspiring and touching as many lives as possible and changing people’s thoughts about food and their relationships with their bodies.”

She will be writing and guest editing Bondi Beauty for the next 3 weeks.

Nik Toth is the Lean Body Coach, a nutritionist, personal trainer and wellness coach based in Bondi. Originally from Hungary, Nik’s journey to wellness certainly wasn’t easy. After years of leading an unhealthy lifestyle in Budapest and then as a VIP host in Las Vegas, Nik turned her life around when she fell in love with an Aussie during her travels and had a miracle visit to a naturopath, who cured their ailments with food alone. She ended up moving countries for the third time and found herself studying nutritional medicine in Sydney – and the rest is history. When she’s not helping women transform their bodies, Nik loves travelling and spending time in “health-conscious” Bondi. Above all, she dreams of “inspiring and touching as many lives as possible and changing people’s thoughts about food and their relationships with their bodies.”